Rail bond



F. H. NEFF RAIL BOND March 10, 1925.

Filed Nov. 4; 191a Patented Man 1 0, 1925.

UNITED STATES ,YPATENT OFFICE.

FRANK H. NEFF, OF CLEVELAND,

OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE ELECTRIC RAILWAY IM- PROVEMENT COMPANY, OFCLEVELAND, OHIO,

A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

RAIL BOND.

Application filed November 4, 1918. Serial No. 261,129.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. NEFF,-a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga and State 6 of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Bail Bonds, of which thefollowing is a specification, the principle of the invention beingherein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applyingthat principle so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The advantage of providing the terminals of a rail bond, where thelatter, as is usually the case, is made'of copper or other metal 16having'a relatively low fusing point when compared with that of therail, with a plate or jacket other than the metal of the bond, forexample a plate or jacket of steel, has heretofore been recognized. Thisadvan- 2 tage is more especially in evidence where it is desired toattach the bond terminal to the rail by fused metal from an arc pencil,in the fashion described, for example, in United States Patent No.1,168,753, to B. F.

2 Silliman, dated January 18, 1916.

One object of the present invention is to provide a plated or jacketedbond terminal that'will permit the bond to be disposed at various anglesto the face of the rail to which it is to be attached, and yet leave thenecessary trough or crevice in which to deposit the fused metal fromsuch a pencil. A further object is to select a metal for such plate orjacket that will not fuse too readily, i. e. in advance of the rail faceto which the bond is thus to be attached; while still another object isso to attach the plate or jacket to the bond terminal as not to destroythe flexibility of the latter.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims, the annexed drawing and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain physical embodiments of theinvention, which, however, constitutes but several of the variousmechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a rail showingmy improved bond in end elevation applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, but showing the bond disposed in a differentposition; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of such'bond and theadjacent rail ends electrically united thereby ;Fig. 4 is a transversesection of the bond terminal in the course of its manufacture; Fig. 5 isa plan view of one of'the electrodes employed in such manufacture; Fig.6 is a transverse section, and Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section, of suchbond as applied to the rail, the planes of such sections respectivelbeing indicated by the lines 6-6 and 7-7, ig. 3.

The bond shown in the several figures of the drawing is of a familiartype, consisting of a flexible stranded body 1 of copper, aluminum orlike metal of high electrical conductivity, such bond having terminals 2designed to be connected to the rails 3. Referring more especially tothe form of terminal illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will beobserved that such terminal is of triangular cross-section, the-anglesbeing approximately equal, or the triangle, in other words equilateral.The sides or faces of such terminal, at least the two upwardly directedfaces, are substantially entirely covered by a plate or jacket 4composed of a metal having a higher melting point than that of the metalwhereof the bond, including such terminals, is composed. Preferably Imake such plate or jacket of wrought iron, which not only has a highermelting point, (approximately 2900 F.) than the metalof the bond, butalso a higher melting point than the steel of which the rail iscomposed. The advantage of employing such a metal will be subsequentlyexplained.

This enclosingplate or jacket is preferably applied to the bondterminals in the shop by resistance welding, two electrodes 5 and 6 ofthe cross-sectional form illustrated in Fig. 6 being employed. One ofthese electrodes is formed on its face with a groove or depression 7having approximately the shape and dimensions of the terminal, so as toreceive such terminalwhich is preliminarily formed in a press at thesame time that the jacket is applied thereto, a sheet 8 of braze beinginterposed between such jacket and the terminal proper. Suchpreliminarily formed terminal somewhat more than fills the recess, sothat when the upper electrode 6 is brought down, as shown in Fig. 4, anda heating electric current passed from the one electrode to the otherthrough the terminal, the exercise of further pressure will serve tocompact or consolidate the stranded material of the bond, and morecompletely close the jacket thereon. By allowing the inner end of theterminal to protrude somewhat beyond the electrodes 5 and 6, or by othersuitable expedient, the consolidation of the strands will be gradualfrom the extreme end of the terminal towards the end where the strandsenter the jacket, as illustrated in Fig. 7, it being desirable to leavethe strands, at least those in the center of the terminal, relativelyfree at this last mentioned point, so as not to destroy the flexibilityof the bond. In other words, the outer layer of strands will bethoroughly welded to all sides of the enclosing jacket throughout theextent of the latter, but the inner strands composing the core of theterminal are consolidated, and united together only as they approach theouter extremity of the terminal.

In applying the bond to the rail, the body may be laid alongside thereofin either of the two positions illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and stillleave a V-shaped opening or trough between the adjacent angular face andthe face ofthe rail (Whether rail head web or other portion) to whichthe terminal is to be attached. An arc is then sprung between a pencil10, which is suitably connected to the source of current supply and therail or bond. The are causes the end of the pencil to melt away at thesame time that it highly heats the adjacent faces of the jacket andrail, so that the molten metal 11, that drops from the pencil, uniteshomogeneously with both such jacket and rail, welding the former, andthus the bond terminal, securely to the latter.

By making the jacket 4 of wrought iron, which has a fusing temperaturefrom 300 to 600 higher than that of the steel of which the rail iscomposed, the two faces which it is desired to unite may be broughtpractically simultaneously to the proper welding temperature, in spiteof the disparity in size of the parts in question. It will be obviousthat were the jacket made of a metal having the same composition andfusing point as the metal in the rail, the difference in size of the twowould be apt to cause the jacket to fuse prematurely, and thus destroythe utility of the device.'

The molten metal from the pencil is used not merely to fill up thetrough-space between the bond terminal and the rail, but is also allowedto overflow past the outer extremity of the erminal so as to build upa'wedge-like abutment 12 contiguous to and in effect integral with suchextremir as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 7. Such abutment serves todeflect vehicle wheels, which might otherwise, upon engaging theterminal, tend to loosen the weld, the jacket itself assisting in this,particularly in the position of the bond shown in Fig. 1.

. Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanismherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed. 3

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention 1. A rail-bond having a body and terminal, such terminal beingof approximately equi-angular triangular form in cross-section so as toleave 'a trough-like recess between itself and the same side of the railto which said bond is being attached in either a vertical or horizontalposition of such body relatively to such rail.

2. A rail-bond having a body and terminal of copper or similar metal ofrelatively lower fusing point than the rail to which said bond is to beattached, said terminal being substantially enclosed in a metal jacketof higher fusing point than the material of such bond and being ofapproximately equi-angular triangular form in cross-section so as toleave a trough-like recess between itself and the same side of the railto which said bond is being attached in either a vertical or horizontalpo sition of such body relatively to such rail.

Signed by me, this 1st day of November,

FRANK H. NEFF.

